Sad news for the country music family this evening as reports are coming out that Florida native Mindy McCready has committed suicide. This comes just a month after the death of her husband due to an apparent suicide; a death in which she was questioned by police about. The couple had their first child together (her second) in April of last year.
McCready had a tumultuous several years since her music career faded. At the peak of her career, she was engaged to actor Dean Cain, but they soon broke up, with her career sliding shortly afterwards.
She had attempted suicide before by overdosing on pills in 2005, two months after her ex-boyfriend Billy McKnight beat her and was charged with attempted murder. She was pregnant with her first child at the time. She was found after she slit her wrists in December 2008, and was hospitalized in May of 2010 after she overdosed on drugs.
Other black marks on her reputation include:
- Arrested in 2004 for a forged pill prescription.
- Arrested for DUI and driving with a suspended license in May of 2005…she was however found not guilty for the DUI.
- She was arrested again in July of 2005 for several charges, including identity theft.
- She was arrested yet again in August of 2005 for a probation violation.
- In July 2007, she was arrested after getting into a fight with her mom.
- Reports came out in 2008 that she had an affair with Roger Clemens when she was just 15 years old.
- A pornographic video of her was released in 2010.
- A stint on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2010.
Her debut album, Ten Thousand Angels sold more than 2 million copies thanks to the success of the single by the same name, as well as her only #1 hit, “Guys Do It All The Time,” and the top-5 hit, “A Girl’s Gotta Do (What a Girl’s Gotta Do.”
Her second album, If I Don’t Stay the Night, didn’t experience the same success, though it did reach Gold status with over 500,000 copies sold. Only one single was able to crack the top 20. Her last 3 albums failed to produce a top-40 song.
Below is a video of her in a seemingly much happier time, titled “The Other Side of This Kiss.” It didn’t get much radio airplay (peaked at #41), but I remember it vividly from the days when CMT played it over and over again. I was a college student just getting into country music, and I was mesmerized by her eyes, beauty, and playfulness. This is how I will remember her, not the ugly decade-plus part of her life that followed. I apologize that it is not of the greatest quality, but it seems that there is currently no official copy of this online anywhere, and this is a recording someone took of their TV screen.
UPDATE: Reports are coming out that her death was due to a self-inflicted gun shot.
UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that neighbors heard two gun shots, and that her dog was found dead as well.